3 Circles
Our church has been talking about an evangelism tool called "3 Circles" quite a bit recently. It is a tool we are adopting as a church and seeking to use so that we can, which is the tagline for the tool, "turn everyday conversations into gospel conversations."
We've all been at a point in a conversation at some time in our lives where we said, "God just opened the door for me to say something, but what do I say? How do I steer the conversation that direction?" If you're like me, you often times couldn't come up with a clever, quick way to do that so you didn't and missed an opportunity to share about the life, death, and resurrection of Christ with someone.
"3 Circles" helps you to do that. It gives you a launching point and a starting spot to be able to feel equipped to share the gospel with friends, neighbors, co-workers, and anyone else God places in your relational networks.
The tool consists of 3 circles and 3 arrows (pictured at the top):
Circle one: God's design - we can see beauty, purpose, and evidence of design around us. God originally planned a world that worked perfectly; where everything and everyone fit together in harmony. God made each of us with a purpose - to worship Him and walk with Him.
Arrow one: Sin - Life doesn't work when we ignore God and His design for our lives. We selfishly insist on doing things our own way. The Bible calls this sin. We all sin and distort the original design. The consequence for sin is separation from God - in this life and in eternity.
Circle two: Brokenness - Sin leads to brokenness. We see this all around us and in our own lives as well. When we realize life isn't working, we begin to look for a way out. We tend to go in many different directions trying different things, which leads to more brokenness. This leads us to realize a need for something greater.
Circle three: Gospel - We need some good news. Because of His love, God did not leave us in brokenness. Jesus, God in human flesh, came to us and lived perfectly according to God's design. Jesus came to rescue us. He took our sin and shame on the cross, paying the penalty for sin by His death. Jesus was then raised from the dead to provide the only way for us to be rescued.
Arrow two: Repent & Believe - Simply hearing this good news isn't enough. We must admit our sinful brokenness and stop trusting in ourselves. We must ask God to forgive us, turning from sin and trusting in Jesus alone. This is what it means to repent and believe.
Arrow three: Recover & Pursue - When God restores us to him through Jesus, we begin to discover meaning and purpose in a broken world. We can now pursue God's design in all areas of our lives.
These descriptions, taken from the '3 Circles' training guide, can help us walk someone through a gospel conversation. If you're at work, and a co-worker shares something they are struggling with, a simple transition statement like, "you know, life is really tough sometimes. I've learned something that has helped me make sense of tough situations. Can I share that with you?" can lead you into being able to share these 3 circles and 3 arrows.
If you would love to learn even more about '3 Circles', reach out to a pastor. We would love to walk through this with you. We will also be doing some group training on this tool, so be on the lookout for those as well.
My prayer is that God opens doors for each of us to share the gospel this week. May you do so with boldness, and with humility, knowing that only God saves; we are simply messengers and proclaimers of His gospel!